Abstract

  Multiple sclerosis (MS) can be widely identified as a neurological disability which affects a wider population of young adults. in the UK. One of the major areas of treatment and control of the disease is in the area of symptom control. Although conventional drug-based interventions show some efficacy in alleviating symptoms; the benefits are marginal and often leads to long term adverse effects. On the other hand, there is a tremendous prospect of cannabis-based interventions which has been under extensive research and experimentation since centuries. In the recent past, the effects of non-psychoactive components of cannabis such as cannabinoids have been shown through animal samples as well as randomised controlled trials to have some efficacy in pain reduction and alleviating symptoms of muscular spasticity.

  Based on a systematic review methodology, online databases are searched in this review for identifying and selecting recent research using established inclusion criteria and exclusion criteria. The purpose of this paper to develop a review of the efficacy of cannabinoids in the treatment and control of MS.

  Findings indicate that the efficacy of cannabinoids and cannabis-based interventions in the treatment and control of MS was repeatedly highlighted in alleviating symptoms of pain and spasticity. In selected research findings, anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic properties of the compound were detected showing potential for addressing neuro-degeneration in MS. However, a wide range of other potential effects such as cognitive repair, mobility and treatment of other symptoms were found to be questionable due to the lack of clinical evidence.

Keywords: Cannabinoid; Multiple Sclerosis; Pain; Spasticity; Neurodegenartion; Side Effects

References

1. Cabral GA. “Marijuana and cannabinoid effects on immunity and AIDS”. In The Biology of Marijuana (2002): 302-327.
2. Sarfaraz S., et al. “Cannabinoid receptor as a novel target for the treatment of prostate cancer”. Cancer Research 65.5 (2005): 1635-1641.
3. Müller-Vahl KR. “Treatment of Tourette syndrome with cannabinoids”. Behavioural Neurology 27.1 (2013): 119-124.
4. Iskedjian M., et al. “A meta-analysis of cannabis-based treatments for neuropathic and multiple sclerosis-related pain”. Current Medical Research and Opinion 23.1 (2007): 17-24.
5. Whiting PF., et al. “Cannabinoids for medical use: a systematic review and meta-analysis”. Journal of the American Medical Association 313.24 (2015): 2456-2473.
6. Wade DT., et al. “A meta-analysis of the efficacy and safety of Sativex (nabiximols), on spasticity in people with multiple sclerosis”. Multiple Sclerosis Journal 16.6 (2010): 707-714.
7. Wade DT., et al. “Do cannabis-based medicinal extracts have general or specific effects on symptoms in multiple sclerosis? A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study on 160 patients”. Multiple Sclerosis Journal 10.4 (2004): 434-441.
8. Zajicek JP and Apostu VI. “Role of cannabinoids in multiple sclerosis”. CNS Drugs 25.3 (2011): 187-201.
9. Patti F., et al. “Efficacy and safety of cannabinoid oromucosal spray for multiple sclerosis spasticity”. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry 87.9 (2016): 944-951.
10. Rice J and Cameron M. “Cannabinoids for treatment of MS symptoms: state of the evidence”. Current Neurology and Neuroscience Reports 18.8 (2018): 50.
11. Fitzpatrick JMK and Downer EJ. “Toll-like receptor signalling as a cannabinoid target in multiple sclerosis”. Neuropharmacology 113 (2017): 618-626.
12. Giacoppo S., et al. “Purified Cannabidiol, the main non-psychotropic component of Cannabis sativa, alone, counteracts neuronal apoptosis in experimental multiple sclerosis”. European Review for Medical and Pharmacological Sciences 19.24 (2015): 4906-4919.
13. Baker D., et al. “Cannabinoid control of neuroinflammation related to multiple sclerosis”. British Journal of Pharmacology 152.5 (2007): 649-654.
14. Papathanasopoulos P., et al. “Multiple sclerosis, cannabinoids, and cognition”. The Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences 20.1 (2008): 36-51.
15. Langdon DW., et al. “The psychological effects of cannabis in MS: impact on cognition, pain, mood and fatigue”. Mult Scler ECTRIMS 9 (2003): S27.
16. Chong MS., et al. “Cannabis use in patients with multiple sclerosis”. Multiple Sclerosis Journal 12.5 (2006): 646-651.

Citation

Citation: Hoori Shehwar., et al. “Use of Cannabinoid is Effective in Multiple Sclerosis Symptoms".Acta Scientific Neurology 3.2 (2020): 01-05.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2020 Hoori Shehwar., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.